


Stress Baking

by ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil



Series: it all works out in time [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (hence the title), Baking, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I like having soft hcs for him okay??, M/M, Narita has a baking channel on YouTube, Post-Canon, Stress Baking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 06:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19661386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil/pseuds/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil
Summary: “Shimizu-senpai,” he called out, cringing when his voice broke from disuse in class all day.“Hm?” She turned to look at him. “Oh, Narita-kun. Did you need something?”He nodded, biting his lip and glancing away. “Can I talk to you? It’s about… It’s about the team.”“Okay,” she agreed, looking at the vending machine one last time before hitting a random button and grabbing her snack. “What is it?”“Well, um…” He tried to remember his plan.Right! The cookies!“Here!” He shoved the small tin at her. “You can have these! I made way too many and–”“Volleyball, Narita-kun,” Kiyoko prompted gently, taking the tin. “You made these?”He nodded. “I want to come back to the team, but…I don’t know if they’ll want me.”She hummed, heading to a bench to sit on and motioning for him to join her.“It’s just – at first, it was freeing! Having all my days back and not being stressed or waking up super early or being incredibly sore. But then, I don’t know. I got anxious. And that’s how all the cookies started.”Kiyoko opened the tin and raised an eyebrow. “Stress baking?”“S-something like that.” He scratched the back of his head.





	Stress Baking

**Author's Note:**

> It's gonna be a short one but I'm really soft for these two so please,,,take it,,

Kazuhito wasn’t sure how this all started.

Maybe it was when his sweet old grandmother would bring him into the kitchen all the time to help her make cookies and cakes for the family. Maybe it was because she taught him how to make ramen, miso, and soba noodles from scratch. Maybe it was because when he was thirteen, his mother started letting him use the oven unsupervised, and she always had the house stocked full of ingredients.

But it didn’t really matter.

What did matter was that on one hot, summer day, Kazu was heating up the house even more by making his sixth batch of cookies that week. They were simple to make, but they kept his mind off of things – things being the fact that he’d quit volley– oh god, oh god, _he quit volleyball_.

And here came the anxiety.

He shut off his brain and turned up some music before whisking up a fresh batch of royal icing for the cookies. He could already hear his mother scolding him for heating up the house, but it was all he had to do. Dammit, why couldn’t he have a non-destructive habit, like Ennoshita and his screenplays? Or, better yet, Kinoshita and his _sleeping_.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Look, he didn’t hate volleyball all of a sudden or anything. He just was _tired_ , he needed a break, he needed not to be yelled at! And Ukai Ikkei was _always yelling_. He couldn’t take it anymore, and neither could Ennoshita or Kinoshita. That should have reassured him, but it didn’t.

He missed volleyball, he missed his friends, and he missed feeling like he was a part of something. He didn’t even mean to care about volleyball! It just happened. But now, he could probably kiss the team goodbye.

On the day of school before rejoining the team, Kazuhito figured he should sort this out with the least/most scary person on the team first: Shimizu. As the manager, she’d be able to tell him if he even could go back, but he knew that she probably wouldn’t punch him on sight. Tanaka, Noya, Daichi, Suga…he couldn’t be so sure.

Well, okay, maybe Kiyoko would. She’d slapped Noya a few times, so she had it in her. Which was why he decided to bring a backup plan: homemade cookies. Kiyoko loved her snacks, so Kazu might just get on her good side before discussing coming back.

It wasn’t hard to find Kiyoko at lunch. Like usual, she could be found at the vending machine, staring between options like it was the most vital life decision she’d ever make. Kazuhito smiled fondly – he wasn’t quite _in love with her_ like _some_ of the guys on the team, but he could definitely appreciate how cute she was.

“Shimizu-senpai,” he called out, cringing when his voice broke from disuse in class all day.

“Hm?” She turned to look at him. “Oh, Narita-kun. Did you need something?”

He nodded, biting his lip and glancing away. “Can I talk to you? It’s about… It’s about the team.”

“Okay,” she agreed, looking at the vending machine one last time before hitting a random button and grabbing her snack. “What is it?”

“Well, um…” He tried to remember his plan. _Right! The cookies!_ “Here!” He shoved the small tin at her. “You can have these! I made way too many and–”

“Volleyball, Narita-kun,” Kiyoko prompted gently, taking the tin. “You made these?”

He nodded. “I want to come back to the team, but…I don’t know if they’ll want me.”

She hummed, heading to a bench to sit on and motioning for him to join her.

“It’s just – at first, it was freeing! Having all my days back and not being stressed or waking up super early or being incredibly sore. But then, I don’t know. I got anxious. And that’s how all the cookies started.”

Kiyoko opened the tin and raised an eyebrow. “Stress baking?”

“S-something like that.” He scratched the back of his head. “And, well, it’s either become a full-time chef or rejoin the team, so…”

She nodded, picking up one of the cookies. “You know, you’ve always been welcome back – all three of you.”

He wrung his hands. “You mean it?”

She nodded again. “Of course.” She tasted the cookie, and her eyes widened. “This is really good, you seriously made these?”

“Y-yeah. I’ve been learning how to bake for a while, and I wasn’t sure if you’d be angry with me, so I figured I should–”

“Angry?” she questioned, tilting her head. “Narita-kun, the team would only be angry if you were really gone forever. If you want to come back, then I’m happy to see you.”

“Oh.”

After a moment of silence, she said, “Do you have like a recipe for these or something?”

All that led to where Kazuhito was now: in Kinoshita’s kitchen, in front of a video camera, trying to make a simple cake while Kinoshita messed things up.

“So, Narita,” Kinoshita said, hopping up on the counter. “Can I lick the spoon when you’re done?”

Kazuhito huffed a laugh. “You don’t get to lick the spoon unless you actually help.”

“I am helping! You’re using my kitchen! That’s helpful!”

“I’m only here because you begged me to let you be in one of my videos,” Kazuhito countered.

“Isn’t this what YouTubers _do_ , though? Collab with their best friends?” Kinoshita smiled innocently at him.

“Can you grab the cake pan, please?” Kazuhito said, ignoring Kinoshita’s claim.

“Aw, no fun, Kazu-chan,” Kinoshita pouted.

“Hisashi.”

Kinoshita made a big display of handing over the pan. “Alright, then, tell me what we do next.”

“Well, we’re going to pour the batter into the pan – think you can handle it?”

“Tch, of course I can!” Kinoshita picked up the mix.

“And only fill it three-quarters – if you overfill it, your oven will be a disaster,” Kazuhito warned.

“Alright, alright,” Kinoshita said, not thirty seconds before overfilling the pan. “Oh. Oops.”

Kazuhito clicked his tongue and bumped Kinoshita out of the way so that he could fix it. “Grab the second pan, please.”

“Sorry,” Kinoshita said, passing it over. “It came out faster than I was expecting!”

“Cake batter isn’t exactly the thickest,” Kazuhito pointed out, filling the second pan. “Okay, can you please open the oven for me?”

“Yes, dear,” Kinoshita laughed.

Kazuhito rolled his eyes and smiled fondly towards the camera. “I hope you all aren’t this hopeless when you’re following my instructions.”

“That’s assuming they’re even baking!” Kinoshita said. “They could just watch your channel because they like seeing yummy, pretty food. Or they think you’re cute.”

“I hope it’s not that,” Kazu said, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. “God, I’m not going to be able to go on the comment section of this video.”

“Think they’re gonna ship us?”

“Don’t give them ideas.”

“You are pretty cute; homo.”

Kazuhito laughed and pushed Kinoshita gently. “Shut up.”

“Gay culture is being at least a little in love with all of your friends.”

“I’m more in love with Ennoshita than with you,” Kazuhito teased.

Kinoshita gasped, then turned to the camera. “Can you believe–?”

Kazuhito was pretty sure he knew how _this_ started – all of it. The channel, the borderline flirting with his best friend.

Kiyoko thought his recipes were enough in-depth that a novice could follow them without trouble, and recommended he try putting them out there. From that, it just kinda…grew. Now, about to enter his third year of high school, he had an overwhelming subscriber count, and instead of feeling like he was wasting time and energy on his baking habit, it felt productive.

And as for Kinoshita…okay, he wasn’t totally sure. But they had something, he was _pretty_ sure. There was something different with them than what either had with, say, Ennoshita. Lingering glances, too-long hugs, jokes that stopped being funny but continued to be made – that was pushing the bounds of friendship territory. But Kazuhito was afraid to say anything, because what if he was misreading it?

That would be the worst.

There was, predictably, a mild freak out when the video when public.

COMMENTS (507)

> _Foodie3784 – 5 minutes ago_
> 
> Very nice simple recipe! Thank you! <3
> 
> –
> 
> _somebODY- – 2 minutes ago_
> 
> find someone who looks at u like kazu looks at hisashi
> 
> _(view more replies)_
> 
> _gay baker – 1 minute ago_
> 
> ok but honESTly
> 
> –
> 
> _Cupcakes – 6 minutes ago_
> 
> does anyone know if theyre dating?
> 
> _(view more replies)_
> 
> –
> 
> _gay RIGHTS – 4 minutes ago_
> 
> the achillean energy is strong in this one
> 
> [ _replies_ ]
> 
> _mm watcha say – 3 minutes ago_
> 
> the what now
> 
> _gay RIGHTS – 2 minutes ago_
> 
> achillean, it means mlm bc achilles was bi
> 
> –
> 
> _Shimizu – 6 minutes ago_
> 
> Thanks for sharing, Narita-kun! I’ll have to try this before I go to university!  
>  ❤
> 
> [ _replies_ ]
> 
> _Narita Bakes – 6 minutes ago_
> 
> thank you very much, senpai!

“Jeez, the engagement stats on this single video,” Kazuhito mumbled to himself. “Hisashi, have you seen this?”

Kinoshita leaned over his shoulder to look at the Analytics tab. “Oh, shit, wow.” A smile slowly stretched across his face. “Hey, Kazu.”

“What?”

“It would probably be a good business move to have me on your channel more often,” he began.

“Well…”

“I could be your assistant…”

“I dunno…”

“I promise not to burn down any kitchens…”

Kazuhito looked at Kinoshita’s attempt at a puppy dog face, and like a fool, he caved. “You’re helping me with baking costs.”

“Am I getting paid for my new position?”

“We’ll discuss it,” Kazuhito laughed. “For now…I need to start planning my next video.”

**Author's Note:**

> as a person who makes youtube videos I still don't know what the fuck you're supposed to do in a baking video. my biggest success with one was the trainwreck me and my datemate made a couple years ago when we fucked up cookies. i swear I know how to bake im just a shitty teacher. so sorry if it read weirdly hhh (ugh I just remembered all the filming I need to do for next week oops)
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/lovingyachi) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit


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